Machine-gun



F. MJGARLAND.

y IN UN` 15.475,276. Patented May 17, 1892.

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, F. M. GARLAND.

MACHINE GUN.

10.475,276. Patented May'17,1892.

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"A". M. GARLAND. MACHINE GUN.

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No.. 475,276. Patented May 17,18%

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` F. MGARLAND.

A MACHINE GUN. No.'475,276. Patented May 1.7, 1892.

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(No ModeL) 7 Sheets- Sheetv 6.

F. M. GARLAND.'

MACHINE GUN.

No. 475,276. Patented May 17,1892.

(NQ Model.) v 7 sheets-sheet 7.

- F. M. GARLAND.

ISLAGHIBVE GUN.

No. 475,276. Patented May 17,1892.

Illlllll/ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK M. GARLAND, OF N EV HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 475,276, dated May 17,

Application filed April 29, 1891.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK M. GARLAND, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Haven, in the county of New I-Iaven and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMachine-Guns,

' of which the following is a full, clear, and eX- act speciiication.

My invention relates to the class of automatic machine-guns havingstationary barrels; and the object is to provide a simple, cheap,positive-feeding, and rapid-firing gun of this class wherein one or bothbarrels may be used for iiring, which-is so constructed that there willbe no danger that a shell will stick in the barrels and clog themechanism, and which can at will quickly be totally disabled.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation ofthe gun. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation with the casin g andseveral of the parts cut in section. Fig. 3 is a plan of the same. Fig.4 is an enlarged elevation looking toward the butt of the feedchain andits operating mechanism. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 6is a plan of `the pushers for removing the cartridges from the chain andtheir reciprocating mechanism. Fig. 7 is a side same. Fig. 8 is a frontelevation of the same. Fig. 9is a detail section of a portion of thesame. Fig. l0 is an elevationlooking toward the butt of thecartridge-lifting chains and their mechanisms. Fig. 11 is a sideelevation of the same. Fig. 12 is a detail plan of aportion of -thesame. Fig. 13 is an elevation looking toward the butt of thecartridge-aligners and their sliding mechanism. Fig. l-it is a sideelevation of the same. Fig. l5 is an elevation looking toward the buttof the revolving spoons and operating mechanism. Fig. 16 is a sideelevation of the same. Fig. 17 is a side elevation of the hammer-bearingspindles and their reciprocating mechanism. Fig. 18 is a front elevationof the same. Fig. 19 is a detail section of one of the spindles.

In the views the letter A indicates the oasing of the gun, the trunnionsof which are held by any suitable mount B,borne by a common carriage C,that is provided with a desirable elevating device D. Near the rear ofthe casing is a transverse shaft a, having on the exterior a crank E foroperating the elevation of the 'yoke b5 frying. the leverib8 1892.Serial No. 390,893. (No model.)

mechanism, as shown in Fig. l. Near thev middle of this shaft is abevel-gear a', meshing with a bevel-gear a2 on a longitudinal 55 shafta3, bearing at the opposite end a pinion a4, that meshes with a piniona5on a shaft a6, that extends toward the front, where it bears a cam a7.In contact with this cam is a roll 0.8 on a slide a9, which is connectedby a link d10 6o with a pawl-bearing leaf a, supported loosely upon ashaft cl2, that bears a roll als, provided with sprocket-teeth. The pawlis in contact with the teeth of a ratchet am, fast to the shaft aw, sothat upon the oscillation of the leaf the sprocket-wheel is rotated.Upon a shaft @15 upon the opposite side of the casing is a roll am, andover these rolls and adapted to be moved by the sprocket-teeth passes afeedchain a", having arms for holding cartridges v7o which are placed inthem, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5. The rotation ofthe shaft athrough the gears rotates the shaft a3, which through the pinionsrotates the shaft a6 and the cam a7. The rotation of the cam through theslide oscillates the leaf, which by means of the pawl feeds the ratchetand gives to the chain an intermittent movement over the rolls.

Near one side the shaft a bears a cam b, in 8o the groove of which runsa roll on a slide b', to the forward end of which is connected an armb2, that is attached to the end of a sliding tube b3, bearing a rod b4,the end of which in front of the feed-chain supports anupright withrearward-projecting rods o6. The rear end of the tube b3 bears an armo7, to which is pivoted a lever bs, that projects through a slot in thetube b3 into a socket in the rod h4. Posts b9 are placed in the path of9o the outerend of fthis lever be, as it is carriedby the sliding tube,as shown in Figs. 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Upon the rotation of the cam bthe slide reciprocates the tube b3, carand the rod b4; but when 95 theend of the lever strikes one of the posts the rod b4 is thrust fartherand faster forward or backward than it would be carried by the tube b3,so that with but little throw of the cam h the rods h6 movement longenough to push the cartridges from the feed-chain into thereceiving-spoons. The spoon c is a trough supported by the partitions AA2, that extend transversely of are given a reciprocating roo thecasing, while the spoon c is borne by the upper end of a lever c2,pivoted to the bottom of the casing. This lever is connected by the linkc3 with a rocker-arm c4 on one end of the shaft c5, which has on itsopposite end an arm c in contact with the cam c7 on the shaft a, asshown in Figs. 2, 3, 5, and 16. As the shaft ct revolves the shaft c5,by means of the rocker-arms, oscillates the lever and swings the spoon cfrom the position in which it receives a cartridge into the path of thearms projecting from the lifting-chain. The lifting-chains on movingupward pass through slots in the edge of the spoons, lifting andcarrying the cartridges to the level of the barrels.

The longitudinal shaft a3 bears in front of the partition A a cam d, inthe groove of which runs a roll on the end of an arm d of a slide d2,that travels in ways along the opposite face of the partition A. Eachend of this slide is connected by a link d5 with a lever d4, pivoted atone end to the bottom of the casing and at the other end to a leaf di ona shaft d, supported by the partitions A A2, one shaft being upon eachside of the axis of the barrels. These leaves bear pawls that engage theteeth of ratchets dT, fast to the shafts d, which bear disks d8, havingsprocket-teeth that mesh into the links of the chain dg, that passesaround these disks and similar disks d10, mounted upon shafts d,supported by the same partitions as shown in Figs. 2, 3, l0, 1l, and l2.As the shaft as and cam d are revolved by the crank through the beveledgears the slide is reciprocated and through the levers oscillates theleaves bearing the pawls, which by engagement with the oppositely-turnedteeth of the ratchets rotate the shafts, giving to the lifting-chainsalternately an upward intermittent movement.

The shaft a3 back of the partition A bears a pair of cams e, in thegrooves of which run rolls projecting fromthe bent levers e', that arepivoted to the partition and connected by links e2 with slide e3,adapted to travel in ways on the front of the partition. These slidescarry aligners e4, having legs e5, adapted to tit the butt and ball endsof the cartridge, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, 13, and 14. The cams e are sotimed as to give an alternate reciprocation to the aligners, which carrythe cartridges from the lifting-chains to the grasp of the inortised endof the spindles in line with the barrels.

rlhe spindlesf have wings j', adapted to slide in ways between platesf2, supported by the partitions A A3, and are connected by toggle-leversf3 with studs f4 at the butt of the gun. 'lo the levers j'3 areconnected toggle-links f5, having rolls that project into the grooves ofthe cams f6 on the shaft a, which are so timed that the toggles areopened and closed so as to reciprocate the spindles alternately. Thespindles bear a tiring-pin f7, adapted to make contact with the end ofthe cartridge which is pushed into and held by the mortised arms f8 onthe front end of the spindles. Pivoted to plates f9 and adapted to swinginto contact with the end of the tiring-pins are hammers f1, normallythrown upward by springs f 11. Upon the opposite side of the plates arelevers f1?, having sears adapted to project into notches j"13 of thehammers, and triggers f, adapted to project into the path of the cam)C15 on the shaft a3. The hammers have friction-rolls f 16, so locatedin the path of arms f17 that when the spindles move backward and therolls run down the inclined arms the hammers are cocked and the searsspring into the notches, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, 17, 18, and 19. W'henthe aligners force the cartridges into the grasp of the spindles, thespindles move forward and place the cartridges in the barrels, and whenin this position the triggers lie in the path of the cam f 15, therotation of which forces in the trigger, so as to draw the sear from thenotch and allow the hammer to strike the firing-pin and explode thecartridge.

Cartridges which are held by a flexible belt are drawn into the gun bythe feed-chain at the proper time. The pushers move backward and forcetwo cartridges from the belt into the spoons, the movable one of whichthen moves into line with one of the lifting-chains. These chains takethe cartridges from the spoons and lift them to the level of thebarrels, from which position the cartridges are moved by the alignersinto the grasp of the spindles, which then move forward and place thecartridges in the barrels, in which position they are exploded. Afterthe cartridges are exploded the spindles withdraw and the next cartridgecrowds from the spindle the empty shell, which falls through the centerof the gun to the ground. The feed-chain is moved two spaces at eachmovement in order that one cartridge may pass the first push-rod to beacted upon by the second, and if it is desired to use but one barrel oneof these push-rods is removed, thus passing the cartridges to but one ofthe barrels.

The barrels, which are secured to the front partition A2, may besurrounded by any suitable water-jacket A4.

I claim as my inventionl. In a machine-gun, in combination, afeedchainconnected with the driving-shaft, movable transversely of the gun,pushers normally in front of and adjacent to the feed-chain, connectedwith and adapted to be reciprocated across the path of the feed-chain bythe driving-shaft for passing the cartridges rearward from thefeed-chain into the path of lifting-chains, spoons c and c for receiving.the cartridges thus pushed, chains with carrying-arms back of thefeed-chain, connected with and intermittently moved vertically by thedriving-shaft for raising cartridges to the level of the barrels, andspindles bearin g hammers and firing-pins connected with andreciprocated by the driving-shaft in line with the barrels, adapted toreceive the cartridges IIO IIS

from the lifting-chains, substantially as specified.

2. In a mach ine-gu n, in combination, a feedchain connected with thedriving-shaft, movable transverselyof the gun, pushers normally in frontof and adjacent to the feed-chain, connected with and adapted to bereciprocated across the path of the feed-chain by the driving-shaft forpassing the cartridges rearward from the feed-chain into the path oflifting-chains, spoons o and c for receiving the cartridges thus pushed,chains with carrying-arms back of the feed-chains, connected with andintermittently moved vertically by the driving-shaft for raising thecartridges to the level of the barrels, aligners connected with andtransversely moved by the drivingshaft on the level barrels adjacent tothe lifting-chains for straightening the cartridges in line with thebarrels, and spindles having hammers and firing-pins connected with andreciprocated by the driving-shaft in line with the barrels, adapted toreceive the cartridges from the lifting-chains, substantially asspecified.

3. In a machine-gun, in combination with a transversely-movingfeed-chain connected with the driving-shaft and receiving-spoons back ofsaid chain, pushers normallyin front of and adjacent to the feed-chain,said pushors consistingof rods for passing the cartridges rearward fromthe feed-chain into the path of lifting-chains, the rods being borne bya slide supported by an independent slide connected with andreciprocated bythe drivingshaft, substantially as specified.

4. In a machine-gun, in combination with a transversely-movingfeed-chain connected with the driving-shaft and receiving-spoons back ofsaidl chain, pushers normally in front of and adjacent to thefeed-chain, said pushers consisting of rods for passing the cartridgesrearward from the feed-chain into the path of lifting-chains, the rodsbeing borne by a slide supported by and independently movable in a slidethat is reciprocated by a cam on the driving-shaft and bears a leverthat is connected with the rod-slide, whereby an independent movement isgiven to this slide by the lever while carried by the main slide,substantially as specified.

5. In a machine-gun, in combination with a transversely-movablefeed-chain connected with the driving-shaft and receiving-spoons back ofsaid chain, pushers normallyin front of and adjacent to the feed-chain,said pushers consisting of rods for passingthe cartridges rearward fromthe feed-chain into the path of lifting-chains, the rods being borne bya slide supported by and independently movable in a slide that isreciprocated by a cam on the driving-shaft and bears a lever that at oneend is in connection with the rod-slide, while its other end terminatesbetween'two posts projecting from the casing, whereby an independentmovement is given to the rodslide by the contact of the lever with theposts When carried by the main slide, substantially as specified.

6. In a machine-gun, in combination with a pair of lifting-chainsconnectedv with and moved vertically by the driving-shaft and a firingmechanism reciprocated by the drivinging-shaft in line with the barrels,a feed mechanism consisting of a pair of rolls bearing sprocket-teeth, achain passing around the said rolls, a ratchet connected with one of therolls and a pawl 'in contact with the ratchet, a slide for oscillatingthe pawl, and a cam for reciprocating the slide, said cam being revolvedby the rotation of the drivingshaft, substantially as specified.

7. In a machine-gun, in combination with a transversely-moved feed-chainconnected with the driving-shaft, lifting-chains with projecting armsback of the feed-chains, connected with and intermittently movedvertically by the driving-shaft, and pushers connected with andreciprocated by the drivingshaft, and a spoon in the rear of thefeed-chain, connected with and oscillated by the drivingshaft from thepath of a pusher into the path of a lifting-chain to carrya cartridgepushed from the feed-chain in one line to a liftingchain in anotherline, substantially as specified.

8.l In a machine-gun, in combination with afeed-chain andfiring-spindles, lifting mechanism consisting of disks bearing chainsupon each side of the barrels, ratchets secured'to the disks, pawls incontact withthe ratchets, a slide for oscillating the pawls, and a camrotated by a crank for oscillating lthe slide, substantially asspecified.

9. In a machine-gun, in combination with a feed-chain andfiring-spindles, lifting mechanism consisting of disks bearing chainsupon each side of the barrels, ratchets having oppositely-turned teethsecured to the disks, pawls in contact with the ratchets, leversconnected with leaves bearing the pawls, a slide connected with thelevers, and a cam rotated by the crank for oscillating the slide,substantially as specified.

l0. In a machine-gun, in combination with the lifting-chains andfiring-spindles, aligners for delivering the cartridges from thelifting-chains to the firing-spindles, and a reciprocating mechanism foralternately moving the aligners, substantially as specified.

ll. In a machinegun,in combination with the lifting chains and firingspindles, the aligners having legs fitting the ends of the cartridgesfor delivering the cartridges fromthe lifting-chains to thefiring-spindles, levers connected with the slides, and cams rotated bythe crank for oscillating the levers, substantially as specified.

12. In a machine-gun, in combination with the transversely-movingfeeding and vertically-moving lifting mechanisms operated by thedriving-shaft, reciprocating spindles bearing firing-pins, said spindlesat the front end having a mortise-opening of a size to receive acartridge-head,

and reciprocating mechanism connected with the driving-shaft for movingthe spindles,

substantially as specified.

13. In a machine-gun, in combination With the transversely-movingfeeding and Vertically-moving lifting mechanisms operated by thedriving-shaft, reciprocating spindles bearing iiiiigpins,

and supporting-plates with

